T-ara – ‘So Good’ Album Review

If I were to describe T-ara‘s music style in a few words, it would be retro disco meets mid-tempo pop ballads. They have been able to amass popularity and thrive on these two seemingly polar opposite genres. But I suppose as an eight-year-old group, it’s important to explore new frontiers to keep things fresh. However, somewhere along the way, T-ara seems to have lost their own color and starts to sound like every other generic girl group. While So Good maintains the status quo of having reasonably catchy songs, it feels less like a T-ara album than ever.

Track 1 – 완전 미쳤네 (So Crazy)

So Crazy is your standard dance pop track with consistent percussion beats, low trumpet sounds, and occasional DJ scratching synth. It’s high-spirited, energetic, with a bit of sassy attitude. Perhaps because So Crazy is produced by Brave Brothers, it sounds vaguely like it belongs on an AOA album and doesn’t have T-ara’s own flavor as much.

Track 2 – 완전 미쳤네 (So Crazy) (Chinese Ver.)

Not reviewed.

Track 3 – 우리 헤어진 이유 (The Reason We Broke Up)

Acoustic guitar and weighty drums help define this mid-tempo pop ballad while the addition of harmonica adds even more to the wistful mood. I’m glad to finally hear something on So Good that’s more reminiscent of T-ara. The girls use their smooth voices to express the sadness of having to end a relationship in The Reason We Broke Up.

Track 4 – For You

For You has a blend of brassy big band instruments like saxophone and trumpets with heavy drums beats to make it more upbeat. Perhaps T-ara is also trying to jump on the retro swing bandwagon, but the mixing of the track sounds forced, odd, and messy — to the point of distracting me from listening to the actually decent melody and vocals. For You is in short, an experiment gone wrong.